5 numbers that explain what just happened in Iowa

Ted Cruz was propelled to victory in Iowa by conservative and evangelical Republican voters looking for a candidate who shares their values.

Entrance polls conducted on Monday night as voters arrived at their caucus precincts reveal how Cruz cobbled together 28 percent of the vote in a field of 12 major candidates — a larger share of the vote than Rick Santorum won four years ago with fewer candidates in the race.

Those interviews also point to Marco Rubio’s strong third-place finish: Caucus-goers who decided in the closing days were more likely to back the Florida senator than those who made up their minds earlier.

On the Democratic side, the virtual tie in state delegate equivalents exposed a massive age divide between younger voters, who overwhelmingly backed Bernie Sanders, and older voters, who came out strong for Hillary Clinton.

Here are five key figures from the entrance polls, which were conducted among 1,794 Republicans and 1,660 Democrats as they arrived at caucus precincts Monday night:

Two-in-five Republican caucus-goers described themselves as “very conservative” – and Cruz romped among them. The Texas senator won 44 percent of that vote, compared to only 21 percent for Trump and 15 percent for Rubio.

But there are some warning signs for Cruz in states with fewer conservative voters: His vote share declined precipitously among more moderate voters. Cruz only got 19 percent among “somewhat conservative” voters, who made up a 45-percent plurality of caucus-goers. And among the remaining 15 percent who described themselves as “moderate” or “liberal,” Cruz won just 9 percent.

For most of the campaign, Trump ran up huge margins among Republicans without college degrees. The final Quinnipiac University poll out Monday morning showed Trump with 36 percent of this vote, 11 points clear of Cruz.

But, according to the entrance poll, Cruz actually edged Trump among these voters, who made up half the GOP electorate, 31 percent to 28 percent.

It’s a stunning shortfall for Trump, who had built a movement among blue-collar voters that he couldn’t turn into votes.

More than a third of Republican caucus-goers said they only made up their minds in the closing days of the campaign – and those voters flocked to Rubio (30 percent) and Cruz (25 percent).

But Trump, who skipped the final Republican debate last week, won just 14 percent of these late deciders.

Trump did best among voters who made up their minds more than a month ago: They made up an equal 35-percent share of the electorate, and Trump won 39 percent of them.

Young Democrats felt the Bern.

A stunning 84 percent of caucus-goers under the age of 30 supported Sanders, the 74-year-old Vermont senator. By comparison, Barack Obama won 57 percent of the youth vote in a three-way race eight years ago.

The under-30 share of the electorate was 18 percent, compared to 22 percent in 2008.

But Clinton offset that resounding Sanders lead among younger voters by running up the score among boomers and seniors: Clinton won 58 percent of the 50-64 vote, and 69 percent of the 65-and-older vote.

Among the slightly fewer than half of Democrats who said they were attending their first caucus, Sanders romped over Clinton, 59 percent to 37 percent. But Clinton reversed those numbers among those who had caucused before, beating Sanders, 59 percent to 35 percent.

That is on par with 2004, when 45 percent were first-time caucus-goers. In the last Democratic caucuses eight years ago, the majority, 57 percent, were attending their first caucus.